It was close to autumn. Xingzhou was cooler than the capital. With insufficient sunlight in the mountains and the rain falling at night, the temperature dropped even further.
"Achoo!"
Song Yihuan, standing a bit closer to the cave entrance, caught a chill and couldn't help but sneeze.
Ji Lingchuan was sitting against the mountain wall. Hearing the sneeze, he pulled her closer and said, "It's cold in the mountains. Don't catch a cold."
Song Yihuan rubbed her nose and found that they were sitting very close. She felt a bit uncomfortable. However, the cave was small. If they didn't sit close, she would get wet in the rain. Ji Lingchuan was injured. If she got sick too, there would be no one to take care of him.
Fortunately, they were close enough to feel each other's body heat, which made them feel less cold.
The rain was falling steadily. Thunder rumbled in the sky from time to time. The lightning that flashed across the night sky cast its light through the tree branches, making the surroundings less dark.
Ji Lingchuan leaned against the mountain wall and looked at Song Yihuan sitting right beside him. She was hugging her knees, and her back looked very slender.
Besides the smell of the rain - soaked soil, there was a stronger fragrance of apricot blossoms coming from her.
The light from the lightning made her figure flicker in the darkness, which reminded Ji Lingchuan of the night when he first returned from the border to the capital and consummated his marriage with his new wife.
That delicate and slender figure, the snow - white skin that was blindingly bright, and the soft moans and cries like a kitten because of the pain all seemed to be right in front of his eyes.
He had managed to suppress the aphrodisiac poison with his willpower last night, but the poison was still in his body. Just a single thought made it flare up like a wildfire.
The fire was ignited from his wound and gradually spread to every part of his body. He felt his body temperature rising and his breath getting hotter. His eyes darkened as he knew he was running a fever.
Hearing the increasingly heavy breathing of the person beside her, Song Yihuan also sensed something was wrong. She turned around and looked at Ji Lingchuan, only to meet his deep, night - like eyes.
For some reason, she felt that his look was a bit dangerous at this moment, which made her shiver from the bottom of her heart. But for their safety, she still summoned up the courage and asked him:
"Your Highness, do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"
Now that he was awake, she had reverted to calling him "Your Highness".
He was quite dissatisfied.
Ji Lingchuan stared at her without saying a word. Song Yihuan gritted her teeth, then reached out her hand and placed it on Ji Lingchuan's forehead. The scalding temperature made her heart skip a beat.
"Your Highness, you have a fever!"
Ji Lingchuan didn't say a word, but his breathing became even heavier. Song Yihuan was flustered for a while, but then she calmed down.
Ji Lingchuan had suffered so many injuries and lost so much blood. It was inevitable for him to have a fever. The night in the mountains was colder than the day. If this continued, his condition would only get worse and he would feel more uncomfortable.
She had to find a way to start a fire. With a fire, they wouldn't have to worry about keeping warm, and they could also use the fire to drive away the wild beasts in the mountains.
Song Yihuan waited in the cave for a long time before the rain outside gradually stopped. She looked at Ji Lingchuan with his eyes closed, then rubbed her arms and walked out of the cave to look for firewood.
After the rain, it was very dark and difficult to find firewood. Fortunately, Song Yihuan was lucky. Not far from the cave, she saw a dead tree that was sheltered by a protruding rock and hadn't been soaked by the rain.
She broke off a lot of dry branches from the dead tree and then carried them back to the cave.
Song Yihuan didn't have a fire starter on her. She looked at Ji Lingchuan with his eyes closed and boldly felt around on his body. Sure enough, she found a fire starter in his pocket.
When she took out the fire starter, something fell out. Song Yihuan looked at it by the light of the fire starter and found that it was the money bag she had embroidered for him before.
She picked up the money bag, carefully dusted it off, and then carefully put it back on him.
She lit the dry branches, and soon the fire was burning brightly. The fire illuminated the cave and dispelled the cold. Song Yihuan felt her body warming up and let out a sigh of relief.
Just as she had started the fire, thunder rumbled again outside and the rain started to fall once more. Song Yihuan couldn't help but sigh that she had been quick enough to start the fire in time. Otherwise, this night would have been extremely difficult.
Ji Lingchuan had a high fever and felt as if he was in a furnace. It was very uncomfortable. Before long, Song Yihuan saw that Ji Lingchuan's lips were chapped, his eyebrows were tightly furrowed, and his breathing was heavy and rapid.
She was very worried. However, it was raining outside and it was very dark. She couldn't go out to look for herbs for him. Finally, she came up with an idea. She tore off the sleeves of her clothes to make two cloth strips, then walked outside, held up her hands, and caught the rainwater.
The rainwater soon wet her hands. After making sure that the cloth strips were soaked, she returned to the fire. First, she placed one cloth strip on his forehead, and then dripped the water from the other cloth strip onto his lips to moisten them.
Ji Lingchuan was extremely thirsty for water at this moment. When he felt the cool liquid enter his mouth, he instinctively swallowed it.
By repeatedly changing the cloth strips, Ji Lingchuan's breathing finally became less heavy and rapid, and the fever on his forehead also subsided a little.
This method worked!
Song Yihuan smiled happily. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and felt exhausted at this moment.
Ji Lingchuan's eyelids fluttered and he opened his eyes again. He stared blankly at Song Yihuan, who was taking good care of him. His eyes were as dark as the night.
"Your Highness, do you feel better now? Can you hear me?"
Ji Lingchuan's Adam's apple moved, and his lips seemed to utter a syllable. Song Yihuan said, "Please bear with it. When dawn breaks, I'll go out to look for some fever - reducing herbs for you. After taking them, you may feel better."
Ji Lingchuan still remained silent. Song Yihuan let out a soft sigh, removed the cloth strip from his forehead, and got up to go outside to catch more rainwater. Who would have thought that her wrist was suddenly grabbed tightly. She let out a startled cry and was pulled forcefully into the man's arms.
"Don't go." The man hugged her tightly. His scalding cheek rubbed against her side face and the back of her neck. His breath on her skin made her tremble.
"Don't go. Stay with me." His hoarse voice rang in her ear.
She placed her hands on his chest and tried to push him away. Song Yihuan was extremely flustered. "Your Highness, let me go. I'm Song Yihuan!"
Although they had already done many intimate things, they had never been so close as their true selves.
However, upon hearing her words, the man not only didn't let her go but hugged her even tighter. His kisses fell urgently. He nibbled on her earlobe and bit at her neck.
"Um... Your Highness... I don't..." Song Yihuan didn't get lost in his kisses. She struggled gently, still trying to break free from his restraint. But the man found her lips and blocked all her words.